Landon Mark: ByTeS // SURPRISE - I made a BTS inspired mixtape! 💜 (Patreon)

Hello everyone! Happy ARMY Day!

Well, I have been talking about working on a BTS music project for a while now, right? I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it (I've spent over 400 hours on it - lmao), but my anxiety and need for perfection stopped me from working on it anymore.

That is what I always do. I create a full body of work and I abandon it before I ever share it with the world because I listen to it a million times and become self-conscious about it. But, if there is one thing that BTS has taught me, it is to just RELEASE IT.

Now that I have a new computer, I am no longer able to go back and spend countless hours tweaking small details on each song (even though I would never be satisfied). The project files aren't lost completely, but I lost all my plug-ins and I'm not sure I could get them all back. So, I can either just release it as is or let it sit on my hard drive for the rest of eternity.

Keep in mind - I am no professional mixer. I don't really know how to master songs for this day and age. I recorded 100% of this album while sitting at my desk in my bedroom in my Los Angeles apartment. And I know, no matter how much I work on it, it is pointless to wait for it to be "perfect". But these lyrics came straight from my heart and soul and I wanted to share them with you.

So, here are the "demos" of 9 songs that are inspired by BTS, sampling BTS, and written for BTS. The beats for these songs were licensed to me years ago, so while I didn't make the instrumentals, I mixed in all of the BTS samples and wrote all of the lyrics myself.

These boys have inspired my love of music again, and that is something I can never thank them enough for. And not only BTS, but YOU, as amazing patrons, have boosted my self-esteem and have given me the confidence to release this.

With all that being said...I present to you - ByTeS [a BTS inspired mixtape].

For now, I am going to keep this as a gift for you, my amazing Patrons. Partly because I want to say thank you for the support. Partly because I'm scared to share it to the world. Maybe I will have the courage to share it with the public soon, but I know that if anyone understands my struggles, it is the ones that have supported me all of these years.

The title ByTeS comes from the term bytes - a group of binary digits or bits (usually eight) operated on as a unit. This represents the seven members of BTS plus myself. It is also stylized with the B, T, and S capitalized.

The tracks range from confidence building, booty-shaking songs, to some of the darkest songs I have ever written. I feel like this track-list takes you on a journey of my emotions, and I hope there is at least one track that can resonate with you.

Attached above is a YouTube video with all of the songs (time-stamped for each track), but I also wanted to give you the chance to download it.

You can download it from the Google Drive here.

If you want, you can add it to your Apple Music library or your Local Files on Spotify. I am hoping that I will get enough confidence (and actually have the ability) to release it on streaming platforms in the future, as well as have individual tracks on YouTube, SoundCloud, and BandCamp.

In closing, releasing this makes me feel so vulnerable because I don’t feel like it is complete, but I feel that that is how artists feel when they release their music. If you aren't afraid to share your feelings through music, then your lyrics probably aren't truly from the soul. 

And…if I don't release it now, I will never do it.

Alright y'all. I can talk about this forever, and I'm sure I'll talk about it more in the future, but for now, enjoy ByTeS.

I purple you,

Landon 💜

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TRACK-LIST: (each track is linked to the specific song file on google drive. there, you can listen to them or download them individually. also i have links to the lyrics, too. i wrote these up last minute, so excuse any errors in my lyrics or in the Korean)

1. EENIE MEENIE MINEY // LYRICS 

2. CRAZY FOR HOME // LYRICS 

3. LALALA // LYRICS 

4. FADED GLORY // LYRICS 

5. INTERLUDE: DEDICATED // LYRICS 

6. LYSB // LYRICS 

7. OH MY! // LYRICS 

8. SET ME FREE PT. 3 // LYRICS 

9. DEAR LANDON // LYRICS